Browsed by
Tag: RPG

Books For Days

Books For Days

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

CAP PUNCHED FIRST: Another day, another attack on fictional characters as a cable news segment pilloried Marvel Comics for making Captain America “woke” in a recent issue, seemingly forgetting that Cap has been punching literal Nazis in his comics since his first issue. Andrew and D. Bethel explore this while also examining the variety of ways texts (movies, comics, books, music, tv shows, etc.) can be read.

PRINT ON DEMAND: After buying some RPG books through DriveThruRPG, Andrew becomes fascinated by the idea––and future applicability––of print on demand services, where a book isn’t printed until a customer orders it. D. Bethel brings his creator experience with POD services to the conversation as well.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Slapcast” (02 July 2021): Where Andrew gave us the run down of the strange TSR Twitter fight.

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • The video Dan referred to with Stan Lee talking about the creation of the X-Men, though it’s one of many similar and slightly different creation stories he has told over the years:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Turnips & Romance

Turnips & Romance

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WEEK IN GEEK: In the lead up to the holidays, Andrew binges the entirety (so far) of Amazon Prime’s original series, Man in the High Castle, while D. Bethel has been playing the delightful yet simple Cat Quest in short bursts.

RELEVANT LINKS:

  • The charming Nintendo Direct where Mario & Zelda creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, guides us through the new Super Nintendo World theme park:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Noclip Option

The Noclip Option

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

CYBERPROBLEMS 2020: The highly anticipated new game from CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077, was finally released after a few delays and it had some…issues. From representation issues to severe bugs, Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that has encouraged a lot of discussion, discourse, as well as hot takes. Andrew & D. Bethel do their best to sort through the mire.

UPDATE: It looks like Sony has removed Cyberpunk 2077 from the Playstation store and is refunding the purchase price to all who bought it there.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Rhythms of the Algo” (17 January 2020): Where it was mentioned that the release of the Netflix original series, The Witcher, prompted a resurgence of popularity in The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.
  • “Playing the Menu” (20 March 2020): Where Andrew started playing The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt after watching the Netflix series.
  • “The Cutting Edge” (29 May 2020): Where D. Bethel talks about picking up The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt after watching the hit Netflix series.
  • “Con Artists #06 – Tickets & Tables” (11 December 2020): Where D. Bethel talks to Taurus Comics‘ Kyrun Silva about being an independent comicker in a world without comic book conventions.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Non-Stop Jason

Non-Stop Jason

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew find a lot lacking in the latest open world RPG by Obsidian Entertainment, The Outer Worlds. D. Bethel, on the other hand, finds a lot to love going back and playing Capcom’s lost NES classic, Darkwing Duck.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Tile Pile” (22 November 2019): Where D. Bethel discusses his initial impressions of Outer Wilds (which is very much a different game than The Outer Worlds).
  • “Duck Law” (30 October 2020): Where Andrew and D. Bethel discuss “Let’s Get Dangerous”, the mid-third season premiere of Disney XD’s Ducktales that is dedicated to The Terror That Flaps In The Night himself.

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Playing the Menu

Playing the Menu

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WEEK IN GEEK: This week, our hosts push through the shelter at home monotony by playing video games albeit old video games. First, Andrew steps back into 2015’s The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt now that he has more context after watching the hit Netflix show, while D. Bethel is intrigued at how hard the narrative payoff will fail in the otherwise really fun Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

RELEVANT EPISODES:

RELEVANT LINKS:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Makes A Taste

Makes A Taste

Comments 2 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

CORONA, I HARDLY KNEW YA: The coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the nerd world with––since the last episode––the postponement of Emerald City Comic Con, the cancellation of this year’s E3 and other cultural events like SXSW. Andrew & D. Bethel cover the COVID-19-related news since the last episode.

WEEK IN GEEK: This week, Andrew falls in love with Scratchpad Publishing’s new RPG, Spectaculars, while D. Bethel is intrigued by the demo for Final Fantasy VII Remake on Playstation 4.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Episode 100, Part 2 – Action Noir Theater (29 July 2016): Where the podcast debuted part one of its audio drama, Nick Springer and the Fremont Horror.
  • Episode 146 – Bad Games Make Precedent (08 Sept. 2017): Where D. Bethel and Andrew talk about the impact of Final Fantasy VII, for better or for worse.
  • The Future is Only Forward (22 March 2019): Where Andrew talks about Rodney Thompson’s previous game, Dusk City Outlaws.
  • Textured in Fear (24 May 2019): Where SquareEnix released its first trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake and D. Bethel and Andrew discuss the remake’s relevance to the modern market.
  • Tile Pile (22 Nov. 2019): Where Andrew talks about playing Betrayal Legacy.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

The Transformers Paradox

The Transformers Paradox

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

GOTTA GO FAST: Sonic the Hedgehog destroys box office expectations Valentine’s Day weekend. Andrew and Dan discuss the surprise success of this cinematic adaptation of the beloved video game franchise.

BIRDS OF PREY: OR, THE REINSTATEMENT OF INSTITUTIONALIZED SEXISM AGAINST WOMAN-LED SUPERHERO FILMS: Birds of Prey released last week and its box office performance left some upset. D. Bethel and Andrew talk about the relativity of box office success, how Marvel fandom may be tainting the pond, and how marketing is a strange magic.

DOOMED ANIMAL CROSSING: In a bit of light news, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Doom Eternal releasing on the same day, Twitter and Reddit have become very interesting places, and in mostly good ways.

RELEVANT LINKS:

https://twitter.com/abujimin/status/1227314799303970819

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • “Episode 101 – The Black Arts of Algorithms” (05 August 2015): Where Andrew and D. Bethel discuss a similar discourse around the reboot of Ghostbusters and how it was deemed a failure despite earning perfectly fine box office numbers.
  • “Episode 155 – Captain Host” (20 July 2018): Where Dan and Andrew ask the question, “Were there too many superhero/nerd movies packed into a single summer?”, among which Solo: A Star Wars Story was released.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

States of Play

States of Play

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WEEK IN GEEK: The boys are back to video games as Andrew plays the 1.0 release of Klei Entertainment’s sci-fi survival game, Oxygen Not Included, while D. Bethel can’t believe he’s enjoying the heck out of Final Fantasy XV, especially because it makes no sense.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELATED EPISODES:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Wet Shirt Feels

Wet Shirt Feels

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew plays Ultima (a.k.a. Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness) in the hopes of reverse engineering it so he can build his own browser game while D. Bethel is genuinely surprised by the depth and charm of Sabotage Studio’s action/platformer/exploration game, The Messenger.

RELEVANT LINKS:

RELEVANT EPISODES:

  • Shortcast 67 – Baguettevania (24 Aug. 2018): Where the metroidvania rogue-like game, Dead Cells, was discussed.
  • Episode 159 – Toxic Delivery Mechansim (12 Oct. 2018): Where Andrew discusses the metroidvania, Timespinners, which very much wears its devotion to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, on its sleeve.
  • Plants Having Sex (19 April 2019): Where Andrew first stepped into the open world mysteries of No Man’s Sky.
  • Good Gamefeel (28 June 2019): Where D. and Andrew spend the episode talking about the metroidvania glory of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC:

Biker Earthquake

Biker Earthquake

Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WEEK IN GEEK: Andrew takes a step further into Image & Form Games’ Steamworld, uh, world with their newest entry, Steamworld Quest. D. Bethel dusts off his bushido and patience as he’s both impressed and slightly confused by SNK’s reboot of their classic franchise, Samurai Shodown [sic].

RELEVANT EPISODES:

INFO:

FEATURED MUSIC: